


In Bloom

by captainflintsjacket



Series: Wilted [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Minor Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-03 18:43:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20457695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainflintsjacket/pseuds/captainflintsjacket
Summary: You're finally on shore leave and Bones wants to take you something special.





	In Bloom

Things had calmed down since your talk with Leonard. Well, it wasn’t talking as much as it was sobbing. Then, when Leonard walked you back to your quarters there wasn’t much of that either. You had to hand it to him - the man sure knew his way around your anatomy. Right now, your little tryst was forgotten, though, because you were annoyed. It was the second day of shore leave, and he’d pulled you up at 6 a.m. for something other than a morning quickie.

“Please, Leeee,” you whined, dragging out the vowels. “Just let me sleep another hour.”

“As cute as you are when you sleep, we need to get going. It’ll be nicer when there’s not as many people around.”

“There’s not many people here.” You groaned as Leonard pulled the covers off of you. When that didn’t rouse you, he pulled the pillow from your arms and hit you over the head with it. You let out a sigh of defeat.

“Fine, but I hope you know I hate you for this.” You shoved yourself off the bed, heading for your bags. “What do I wear?”

“Boots. It’ll be muddy with the rain last night and maybe a sweater. It’s a little cold for October.” Leonard leaned against the door, arms crossed watching you undress.

“You don’t have to watch, you know. I can manage to dress myself.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re not gonna go straight back to sleep when I turn my back.”

“You just like watching me get naked,” you said, poking your tongue out at him.

“Guilty,” he said, walking over to you. “But I like seeing you wear my sweaters even more.” His voice dropped to a low growl as you pulled his old academy sweater on. When he kissed you he tasted like coffee, and you groaned softly. His fingers dug into your hips, dragging up the bottom of the sweater.

“I swear to God, Len, if you made me get dressed this early in the morning just to undress me I’m never speaking to you again.”

“Mm, you don’t have to talk, baby.” Leonard smirked before brushing his lips against yours again. You slapped him playfully on the arm and he pulled away with a laugh, hands still trapping your hips against his. “Lord help me, you are so beautiful.” He tucked a lock of hair behind your ear as you snorted.

“That’s what beauty sleep does for ya. Might wanna try it yourself sometime, Doc.” You slapped his ass as you walked past him out of the bedroom. “Tell me you saved some coffee for me,” you called over your shoulder.

After you were fed and properly caffeinated, Leonard loaded you and a basket of food (and another thermos of coffee, at your request) into the car. He still refused to tell you where you were going, so you’d taken it upon yourself to annoy him until he caved or you got wherever it was you were heading. So far, he didn’t look like he would break.

“Cow,” you said, pointing at a ranch as you sped past. The wind whipped your hair around your face and you enjoyed the sting of the cold air. “Cow,” you said again, passing another group of cattle. “Oh! Horse! Lots of horses. Oh, Len that one’s just a baby!” Leonard only chuckled at your enthusiasm. After a few more minutes, it seemed like you were only annoying yourself, so you looked up some music on your PADD, trying to figure out what song Leonard would hate the most. You barely managed to bite back a laugh as you pulled up a classical song and synced your PADD to the car. There was a brief pause before the song started, and you turned the volume up as far as it could go.

The speakers rattled when the song started: “My anaconda don’t. My anaconda don’t. My anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns hun.”

The verse didn’t even start before Leonard smashed the radio off. “No,” he said.

“But Leonard,” you fake-gasped, placing a hand over your heart, “I thought you liked my buns. Maybe you just need some reminding,” you purred. Loosening your seatbelt, you turned in your seat to face Leonard. You brushed your lips against his neck, and you could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten.

“I’m driving, sugar.” Leonard said, and you threw yourself back into your seat with a huff, crossing your arms over your chest.

“You’re no fun.”

Leonard laughed. “I’m plenty fun. You’re just cranky ‘cause I woke you up this early.” You only grumbled in response, watching the landscape fly by out the window. Leonard put a hand on your knee. “Just go to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

Between the cool breeze on your face and Leonard’s thumb stroking your knee while he hummed under his breath, you were asleep in minutes. You were still grumpy when he woke you up again and asked you to put on a blindfold. You agreed, though, tripping as you clambered out of the car and fell straight into Leonard’s chest.

You buried your head into his chest as he laughed, hardly able to keep off your own smile at how ridiculous you felt. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” Leonard laced his fingers through yours as he led you forward.

You felt wood under your feet and then gravel. You could hear water trickling, so you guessed it was a bridge. You smelled flowers, too, which led you to believe this was another one of Leonard’s nature adventures and you groaned softly.

“Wait here,” he said, letting your hand go. You immediately turned away, reaching blindly for a wall or a sign of some sort. “Hey, hey, I said wait here,” Leonard said, cursing under your breath as you knocked something over. He barely managed to catch it, setting it upright before dragging you back to the counter and wrapping you tightly in his arms. There was money exchanged and the cashier handed Leonard a map, but he declined. Said he’d been here a million times before, and then the two of you were off again.

The road went from concrete to gravel to dirt and grass. You were glad you listened to Leonard and wore boots, because you felt yourself sinking into the damp soil. The two of you walked in silence, Leonard no doubt enjoying the serenity of nature. You scoffed at the thought, still annoyed that he woke you up so early. You were about to cave and start whining again when Leonard finally stopped, setting something down and hooking an arm around your waist.

“You can take the blindfold of now.”

“Yeah, but then I have to look at you again,” you teased. Leonard laughed, a deep infectious laugh that even made you crack a smile.

“Just take it off, smartass,” he said, pressing a kiss to your temple. When Leonard spoke, it was barely a whisper. “My sister brought me the first time. Right after Jocelyn and I split.”

You looked at him first as you slipped the blindfold off, then hazarded a look around. You gasped softly as the colors flooded your eyes. Beautiful Japanese maples blending with blue flowers and orange plants you couldn’t identify. You re

“I was in a bad way. Especially after she got custody of Jo,” Leonard let go of your waist and out of the corner of your eye you saw him reach into the basket he brought. “My sister thought bringing me here would remind me that there’s ‘still beauty in the world,’” Leonard continued. You chuckled at his impression of his sister.

You stared into the pond in front of you, watching the trees dance in the reflection on the surface. “Did it work?”

“Bless her heart, no. She tried everything but, I didn’t see beauty in the world again until I met you.”

You looked at Leonard, eyes dropping when you saw him kneeling in front of you. You heart jumped to your throat when you saw the ring. “Len.” It’s all you manage to get before your voice breaks.

“Y/N, I know I’m closed off and temperamental and I wake you up too early and nag you about all the caffeine you drink - which is still too much, by the way,” Leonard laughed. You laughed with him, tears slipping down your cheeks. “It’s all just because I love you, which isn’t something I thought I’d ever say to a woman again, but damn if you didn’t make it impossible not to love you. I’d like to tell you exactly how much for the rest of our lives.”

You dropped to your knees in front of Leonard and nodded your head vigorously. You threw your arms around him, trying to form words but not trusting yourself to not start crying. You peppered kisses along his jaw before pulling back to kiss him on the lips. The damp grass was soaking your knees but you didn’t care. You wanted to live in this moment forever. “Yes. God yes.” Leonard smiled wider than you’d ever seen, pulling the ring out of the box and slipping it on your finger. “It’s perfect,” you breathed.

“I asked your dad your ring size before the shuttle crash. Wanted to do this right and get his blessing.” Your chest tightened, thinking about walking down the aisle without him. Leonard saw your worry and pressed a hand to your cheek. “My pa’ll walk you down, if you want. He already thinks of you as his daughter anyhow.”

“I’d love that,” you said. You looked at Leonard again, admiring the lines of his face. The wrinkles at his eyes and the corners of his mouth, revealing more laughter than his typical scowl suggested. You pressed your lips against his again, slipping your tongue in his mouth. Tasting the coffee and honey he had for breakfast, tasting the love he had for you. As the breeze blew your hair around you, you realized Leonard was right. There was still beauty in the world and it was seated right in front of you.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr @trade-baby-blues


End file.
